NEW T40 Owner - SOUND Questions

am a proud new owner of a Red T40. will post photos later.

I just had some questions about finding the right sound with this bass. when playing it for the first time today (through a Traynor YBA 200 tube head, with a single 15" cab).

when playing i found that there seemed to be some clipping when i played the strings harder (playing fast punk music). the lighter i played the strings the better it sounded (less crappy speaker clip) all the knobs on the bass were turned to full.
front toggle switch was in the middle.
the back toggle switch was in "phase" mode

i was wondering if there are any suggestions to reduce the clipping when the attack is more aggressive. perhaps should i be plugging in through the active input..??? the bass is passive correct?

any suggestions/guidance would be greatly appreciated !!
cheers!

ryan

The T-40 is passive, you're right. If you have an aggressive attack, it sounds like your string action is too low. You might want to raise the saddles to get the action where you like it so that you don't get the *clang* from the strings hitting the fretboard. That's what it sounds like to me. Oh yeah, welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the show!

Sadly I'm not a real bassist, so I don't have any advice.

Scottpro1969 wrote:

The T-40 is passive, you're right. If you have an aggressive attack, it sounds like your string action is too low. You might want to raise the saddles to get the action where you like it so that you don't get the *clang* from the strings hitting the fretboard. That's what it sounds like to me. Oh yeah, welcome to the forum!

when i first got it (ebay purchase), the neck was slightly bent and the strings were rattling off the first fret. i took it into a guitar shop and they did a full set up. right now the action is fairly high towards the body, but the lower at closer to the tuners. any other suggestions?

there seemed to be less clipping when i played in standard tuning as there was more tension on the neck. however, we typically play in drop d and the clipping seems to be increased. is there another way to raise the action at the end of the neck (without adjusting the truss rod. the shop had already adjusted the truss rod as much as they could without splitting the neck they said) any suggestions would be much appreciated!

The only other way is raising the saddles. If the neck is straight, don't mess with it. Or, now that I think about it, you could adjust the neck tilt. Otherwise, I would go to using a pick. If you have a very aggressive attack with fingers then you'll get the clanking no matter what bass you play. Sounds like you need higher action to me.

If your guitar guy has maxed out the truss rod, don't mess with it. There are two hex key adjustments on each saddle that will raise/lower the saddle. If you're going to raise the saddle, make sure to release some tension from the string first.

to elaborate a bit on the sound when i am attacking the top string.. the notes just sound to seem more flat and dead with less treble than if i were to play the top string open...

when playing the strings open (and with less of an attack) the notes sound AWESOME! (and less flat).

hey scott,

i play with a pick anyways.

when playing all the notes open the tone and sound is awesome. however when im attack notes the sound seems to change..

i am just wondering if it is the settings that i have the pickups dialed into that are effecting the sound before i start readjusting the saddle, which were just set up last week in the shop..

I would say you could try to lower the pickups. But Usually, if the signal is clipping it is the amp (or even the cord). The Cord? Yes. The harder you hit the strings the more the bass can vibrate, this can cause a bad cord to static. Usually though clipping is the amp/speaker relationship. Turn the bass down (on the bass) and then play hard. Is the 'clipping' gone? Then yup it's the amp...Use less gain? Lower the op volume?

turning the bass down has helped somewhat. perhaps i need a more powerful cab